Follow us on Twitter

SKUSA Partners

SEARCH

Latest SKUSA News

After a long season of race promotion and ground breaking organizational efforts, you’d think that Superkarts! USA’s Tom Kutscher would be setting up for a relaxing off-season, taking a little time off before SKUSA’s California ProKart Challenge regional series fires up again in early February. But for the head of the sport’s leading shifter and TaG program, nothing could be further from the truth, as his company is currently in the middle of an important period of evolution. This progression is focused on improving stability while fueling growth, which has seen Superkarts! USA make some aggressive and calculated moves over the past 18 months. In the last year and a half, they made the decision to move away from the multiple-engine TaG program that was part of their foundation, trimming away the engines that were not utilized in any large numbers (Motori and Rok). They also elected to remove the Rotax FR125, whose continuing technical development caused issues and required investment in testing to maintain equality in TaG racing. The end result is that SKUSA will move into 2015 focused on a single supplier of engines for their ‘TaG’ categories, which is a current trend in our sport. Three different models of IAME products will power the single-speed side of the SKUSA equation, with the X30 and Leopards being legal for TaG Senior and TaG Master in 2015. The TaG Junior classes will stick with the Leopard-only approach for one more year, and as recently announced, an ambitious trade-in program will put all of SKUSA’s TaG Cadet drivers on the IAME Mini Swift air-cooled engine for 2015.

The Stock Honda CR125 engine package will remain as the absolute foundation of the Superkarts! USA program for years to come

A new focus on a single manufacturer for their TaG program has provided Superkarts! USA with some much needed long-term stability, and this is only amplified when paired with the organization’s continued support and dedication to the Stock Moto shifterkart program that utilizes the Honda CR125 engine package. It is impossible to argue that SKUSA is not the leader in the category, as they continue to position the formula has a key segment of their operation. That said, SKUSA’s increased partnership with the IAME product line has brought about speculation that the Italian manufacturer’s gearbox engine could become a replacement for Stock Honda program in SKUSA’s shifterkart categories. SKUSA wishes that it be known that this is by no means the case. SKUSA remains fully committed to the Stock Honda program and they see many years of working closely with Honda and HPD.

The IAME Mini Swift is now the spec engine for the TaG Cadet category in Superkarts! USA competition

The final page of the 2014 calendar is now less than 30 days from being flipped over, and then we’ll welcome the first month of 2015. It was with this in mind that Superkarts! USA was already hard at work planning for the new year well before hosting their season finale in Las Vegas last month, and a number of significant announcements have been scheduled for the coming weeks as a result. The recent release of the schedule for the sixth season of the SKUSA Pro Tour, as well as next year’s California ProKart Challenge dates, have people already planning their ‘15 programs, and this will help the organization continue its growth as it enters its 10th year under the helm of SKUSA CEO Tom Kutscher. The latest news regarding the future of Superkarts! USA is directed at the TaG Cadet division and will bring it inline with SKUSA’s long-term vision for their TaG categories. Beginning in 2015, the organization’s youngest group of drivers will utilize the IAME Mini Swift engine, and SKUSA has put together an incredible trade-in program to make sure that the new focus does not have a negative financial effect on its core group of customers. The Mini Swift, which is a 60cc air-cooled engine that utilizes a centrifugal dry clutch with an electric starter and a Tillotson carburetor, is now the future of SKUSA TaG Cadet racing.

Back at the beginning of April, IAME Italy issued a press release stating that it was re-engineering its North American distribution program by clearing the slate, replacing its three existing importers with two new operations – IAME USA East and IAME USA West. GoPro Motorplex owners Justin Marks and Eric Jones were announced to head up the East Coast component, while Superkarts! USA’s Tom Kutscher was revealed as the owner of the West Coast effort. EKN sat down with Kutscher this past week to discuss his motivation for beginning an official connection with IAME, how it will play a role in the future of SKUSA, and how this move corresponds with other steps that he has taken to provide increased stability for his company and cost control for his racers.

2014 gets underway for the Texas ProKart Challenge at the Dallas Karting Complex on April 25-27 (Photo: dallaskartingcomplex.com)

This weekend marks the opening of the third season for the continually growing Texas ProKart Challenge – presented by 3G Kart Racing/Burger King®/Chase Racing/Dallas Karting Complex/Fernelius Alvarez Attorneys. Fulfilling the need for a strong regional program in the LoneStarState, series director Dave Pauly established a program combining the United States Rotax Max Challenge and Superkarts! USA categories under one banner. Since 2012, the series has experience expansion with every event and this year’s awards package is scheduled to reach over $30,000 in cash and prizes. The third season for the Texas PKC will start this coming weekend (April 25-27) at the Dallas Karting Complex, located in Caddo Mills, Texas.

Texas ProKart Challenge logoThe opening weekend of the season is, and has been shaping to be an incredible kick off to 2014. Entry lists in all categories are stacked, continues to grow to record numbers as the race weekend approaches. The series was reduced to eight rounds of racing this year, compared to a 10-race program in 2013, making each round crucial to the regional racers looking to secure a series championship. Added to this year’s opening rounds is the addition of many Superkarts! USA Pro Tour competitors from outside the region, as the event serves as a tune-up event for next weekend’s SKUSA SpringNationals.